


Where You Are (Is Where I Belong)

by dvg



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Drama & Romance, Love, M/M, Reunions, Secret Relationship, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:41:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27992433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dvg/pseuds/dvg
Summary: Two years after his imprisonment, Robert is released based on new evidence.Aaron and Robert are back together but they want to keep it a secret - at least for a little while.Take a look inside the epic reunion with glimpses into the past and into the future as two men, who were always destined to be together, finally find their way back and get the future together they always deserved.
Relationships: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden
Comments: 9
Kudos: 123





	1. Chapter 1

Life had a funny way of shocking the hell out of you, Aaron thought as he let his eyes roam over the man next to him. As they drove out of town, away from the village that was beginning to feel more like a prison, Aaron felt like he could finally breathe. No one had spotted him get into the passenger seat of Robert's car as far as he could tell. It was, after all, almost midnight and the streets were empty, save for a few rowdy teenagers he passed after he'd locked up the pub for the night. If someone had spotted him, which was highly unlikely, well he would think of something. It wasn't like they hadn't done this before. They were experts at sneaking around and not getting caught, and he would be the first to admit the sneaking around only heightened the thrill.

It still felt surreal, especially after the last two hellish years of his life - the absolute worst if anyone asked him to describe the twenty four agonizing months he had to suffer through while Robert was in prison. Life for him had just stopped. Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing felt real. Every day that passed by the pain never lessened, the hole in his heart only grew larger. 

He'd felt suffocated. Lost. Alone. But he didn't feel that way anymore and he never wanted to feel like that again.

Thank God for his therapist, without her he was convinced he would have gone completely mad. Every time he thought about turning to the bottle, or things just got to be too much, he found himself on the ugly gray sofa in her office. It had become his safe place, a place where he could talk about Robert without being told what to do or how to feel. 

How many times had he dreamed about a moment just like this, to be this close to Robert again, breathing the same air, only to wake up and find himself alone in their bed, the spot where Robert used to sleep cold and empty? Every night it happened It felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest all over again, the pain so real, so excruciating he wasn't sure he would ever recover. Robert was gone and he was never coming back and facing that, dealing with the reality of losing the man he loved, that had been torture. Pure fucking torture. And no matter how many times he tried to move on, he just couldn't.

He always wondered if Robert thought about him the same way Aaron thought about him. Did Robert wonder how he was, what he was doing, if he'd met someone new? Would he even care?

Did Robert still love him?

And hadn't that just been the greatest fucking feeling when Robert finally admitted the truth.

_Of course I still love you. I never stopped._

And the way he had said it like he couldn't believe Aaron could ever think that. How could Aaron not know that letting him go was the hardest fucking thing he'd ever had to do? And that no, his fucking feelings hadn't changed. 

_Loving you is like breathing. I couldn't stop even if I wanted to._

Aaron rubbed his palms over his thighs as he looked out the window, and tried to get his racing heart to calm the fuck down. He hadn't been this happy in he couldn't remember how long. 

_Stop thinking, just stop thinking. You said you would stop thinking so turn off your brain and just enjoy this moment because before you know it, the night will be over._

And they'd have to go back to reality, back to pretending they were just exes who had somehow found a way to be friends.

Even though they were much more than that. But on the surface, in front of their family and friends, they put on an act so believable no one, not even the ones that knew them best, had any idea what was going on behind closed doors. Which they were both grateful for because they were not ready to share this with anyone. Right now what they wanted - and what they needed - was to have some time alone together to make up for all the time they'd lost when Robert had been sent to prison and Robert abruptly ending their marriage.

Robert was working hard at trying to make it up to him, but Aaron didn't care about that, not anymore. He had Robert back and to him that was all that mattered. He didn't want any of the smooth talking, the redundant apologies, the romantic gestures. 

"It's just you and me," Robert said, breaking Aaron out of his thoughts. "Stop thinking about everyone else." As he drew the car to a stop in front of the garage of their secret hideaway outside of town, Robert switched off the engine.

They were plunged into silence and darkness, and as he unbuckled his seat belt, Aaron wondered if Robert could hear the thumping of his heart. As he climbed out of the car, he knew nothing short of a natural disaster would have kept him from walking away from the man looking at him from across the hood of his silver Audi.

Then Robert was behind him, close enough that Aaron could feel Robert's breath on his neck, and he knew there was no chance in hell he was going to be able to keep from kissing or touching him when they finally got inside and locked the world away.

That is what Robert had bought this place for, so they could be alone without the distractions of the outside world, the world that they weren't ready to tell that they were back together.

Two years, Aaron thought as Robert unlocked the front door. That's how long he tried - and failed - to get over Robert. Even a divorce hadn't changed how he felt about the man who had cut him off without a word. That was how long Robert spent inside before being released after new evidence came to light that proved he wasn't the one responsible for Lee's death. Even now, just thinking about the injustice of it all, and how it had kept them apart, Aaron felt wounded and mad all over again.

It had only taken them five days after Robert came back to the village before they were back in each other's arms. Aaron couldn't even remember who initiated that first kiss in the rain, but he could remember the kiss in vivid detail and how alive it had made him feel. 

And had left him aching for more.

That had been four weeks ago and every chance they got to be alone, they took it. 

They barely made it two feet inside before Robert caught Aaron's wrists with his fingers and spun him around. Robert's trademark arrogant smirk was plastered on his face, and as he drew Aaron towards him, closed the distance between them.

"If I don't kiss you right now, I think I might die." The tortued tone of Robert's voice matched Aaron's own frustration and lack of self control, and when Robert reached for the back of his neck, Aaron sank into one passionate kiss, then another. Aaron speared his fingers into Robert's hair and Robert's hand at the back of his neck flexed and tightened, drawing him even closer.

As Aaron's back hit the door and Robert's lips kissed up his ear, his fingers unbuttoning his shirt, Aaron realized he just didn't care what anyone else thought. This - being here with Robert - was where he was meant to be.

And then Robert was grabbing his hand and pulling him towards their bedroom, and for a minute Aaron's mind went back to that dark place, the most painful two years of his life when all of this - all of Robert - had been out of reach, the pain of losing his husband so excruciating some days he didn't even want to get out of bed.

But then Robert had come back and everything changed. He hadn't stood a chance. Getting back together was inevitable from the minute he'd seen Robert walk through the pub doors, his hair slick from the rain, his leather jacket sticking to his body like a second skin. He just hadn't realized just how far he would go to keep Robert to himself. At least for a little while.

"I don't want to lose you again," Aaron said, voicing his deepest fear as they walked backward into the bedroom and the back of his calves hit the mattress.

Then Robert was stroking his cheek and Aaron shut his eyes.

"You're not going to," Robert promised. "Never again."


	2. Chapter 2

Aaron stared at the missed call on his phone screen. Somewhere in the back of his mind - okay, maybe right there up at the front - he'd been hoping for this. 

Yes, they'd agreed not to call each other when other people were around, especially his family because they both knew exactly what their reaction would be, and neither of them wanted or needed the negativity that the news of their reunion would bring out. But looking around the crowded pub as he poured a pint for a customer that had just walked in, he didn't care. He needed to hear Robert's voice. It had been three days since he'd last heard it.

Aaron had promised himself that what they had right now - the secret meetings, the stolen moments - was enough for now, but he knew he was lying to himself. He wanted more. His reaction to seeing Robert's name on the screen only confirmed it, as did the way his heart lodged in the back of his throat at just the thought of hearing Robert's voice.

"I have to return this call, will you be okay on your own for a few minutes?" he asked Joel, his part time bartender.

"Sure," Joel said as he wiped the bar. "Take as much time as you need." 

"Thanks." Aaron grabbed his jacket and disappeared out the back before his mum could spot him. As he rounded the corner, he took a quick look over his shoulder to make sure he was alone before he pulled his phone from his pocket.

When a seductive "hey" came through the phone, all the blood in Aaron's head went south.

"I know we said no phone calls when you were at work," Robert said, "but I really needed to hear your voice."

"Feels weird sneaking around like this again," Aaron said. 

"I think about you when I'm awake, when I'm asleep, I can't help it. I think about you when I tell myself not to, that this is moving too fast, that maybe we should slow down."

"When did we ever move slow?"

"I know, but I wanted this time to be different."

"Where are you?" Aaron didn't want to admit it, but he secretly hoped Robert was somewhere close by. Maybe he could sneak away from the pub for a few hours and they could....

"At Vic's. Took Harry off her hands for the morning so she could get out of the house."

Or maybe not.

"Oh yeah? What did the two of you do?"

"Played lego, watched a boring Disney film. We might have both had a nap."

"Old man," Aaron said with a grin, then he heard a door shut and a woman's voice in the background. "Vic just get home?"

"Yeah, listen I gotta go. I'll text you later."

Before Aaron could say anything, the call was disconnected.

* * *

**Meet me outside.**

Aaron had just finished locking up the pub when he'd gotten a message from Robert to meet him outside. He was exhausted and just wanted to go home and crawl into bed, but the message from Robert, as it always did, had all other thoughts vanishing from his head.

As he was tugged out of sight and shoved up against the brick, Aaron's pulse skyrocketed as a rush of adrenaline flooded him.

Robert was there, right in front of him, and as he found himself boxed in, Aaron knew he would do just about anythning to get one more kiss, one more touch, from the man he just couldn't stay away from.

Robert stared at the face only inches from his, and all the risks, the reasons why he shouldn't be here, that he didn't deserve this second chance, vanished from his mind. Fair or not, he wasn't going to blow it this time. Living without Aaron had almost destroyed him the last time and he couldn't lilve through that again. He could see the rough stubble shadowing Aaron's jaw, and as he crowded in, he wedged a foot between Aaron's legs and reached for his waist. 

"I shouldn't be here," Robert whispered.

"Yes, you fucking should," Aaron said.

"Just so you know, I have tried to stay away from you."

Aaron licked his lips, and then hooked his fingers through the belt loops of Robert's jeans, pulling him closer. "Clearly it didn't work."

"I failed." Robert leaned closer. "Should I apologize?"

Aaron shook his head and then leaned in to brush their lips together. "No, don't you dare."

Robert tugged at the zipper of Aaron's hoodie. "I can't stay long," he said as he pulled the zipper down. "But I needed to tell you something, and I wanted to do it in person."

Aaron chewed on his lower lip, a million different scenarios running around in his head, none of them good. "Okay, what is it?"

"I'm going away for a few days," Robert said, and the disappointment on Aaron's face almost broke his heart, but this has been on his mind all day and he knows he just needs to ask, that it's not a big deal if Aaron says no. He has a pub to run, responsibilities. He knows Aaron can't just get up and leave whenever he wants. Two years ago Aaron had been ready to live the rest of his life on the run, but so much had changed since then. But not how they felt about each other, Robert knew that, he didn't doubt that for a second.

"And you're telling me this because?" Aaron said, narrowing his eyes, his stance defensive as he stuffed his hands in the pocket of his jeans. "It's not like I'm your keeper, I'm not even your husband anymore. If you want to go somewhere, go."

"Can you just listen to me? I'm going to LIverpool to see Seb," Robert said. "I was hoping you would come with me. I _want_ you to come with me and see _our_ son."

After two years of complete radio silence and denying Aaron any form of visitation, Aaron was surprised Rebecca had agreed to let Robert come visit. As far as he knew Rebecca had completly cut him off too.

"I didn't realize you were talking to Rebecca." 

"Every time I've tried to reach out to her since my release she's shut me down but then last night I got a phone call from her lawyer. Apparently she's willing to discuss joint custody but first she wants me to come out there and spend some time with him, let him get used to the idea of me being around again. I think she's struggling raising him on her own."

Which made sense and was perfectly logical, Aaron thought, but that didn't mean she wanted him around.

"I only just hired another bartender," Aaron said. "I don't know if I can trust anyone to cover me for a few days. With mum out of town, I...."

"I understand," Robert said, fighting to keep the emotion out of his voice. "You and I can always go up another time, maybe make a weekend out of it. I could book us a hotel."

"Yeah," Aaron said, trying to hide his disappointment. "Tell him I miss him, yeah? And that I'll come see him soon."

"I will," Robert promised.

"Meet me at home," Aaron said, not wanting to let Robert go any sooner then he had to. "Liv is spending the night at her boyfriends. It would just be the two of us."

Robert wanted nothing more then to go off the grid with Aaron, to go somewhere nobody could find them, away from the people that were constantly trying to convince Aaron that they needed to keep their distance because _he left you, he was the one that divorced you_ , was all he heard. They didn't understand; why the fuck couldn't they understand how hard that it had been for him? Why didn't anyone get that that he hadn't _left_ , that he had been sent to prison. Did they even care that every day he spent in that jail cell was like living in a hell he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy, that he spent every moment of every day missing his home, missing his husband and regretting every single one of his decisions that had led him there?

Fuck, it made his head hurt everytime he thought about those dark days. He never thought he'd be back here. He never thought Aaron would give him another chance. All he wanted to do was pull Aaron into his arms and never let him go, show him again and again how much he'd missed him and how sorry he was for everything he'd put him through.

They needed time alone and whenever they got an opportunity they needed to grab onto to it.

"Yeah," Robert said, his eyes roaming over Aaron's face, fighting the urge to kiss him right there in the middle of the street, then lowered his gaze to his hands to stop himself. "I'll meet you there in a bit." He watched Aaron go towards the direction of the Mill and shut his eyes, trying to gather some semblance of control before he followed closely behind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this story (almost forgotten) has new life breathed into it and I'm excited to where it is headed. Hope you enjoy this brief chapter :)

"If this is weird for you, we can go somewhere else," Aaron said as he unlocked the door to the MIll, as if he could sense Robert's uneasiness, which wasn't a surprise really. Aaron had always been able to read him like a book. 

Aaron closed the door behind them, and it felt like they could finally shut out the rest of the world. Behind closed doors they didn't have to pretend and they didn't have to worry about anyone catching on that they had been together for weeks. It would be blatantly obvious if anyone looked close enough. It wasn't going to be long before the truth came out, there was no way the two of them would be able to keep up this charade for much longer. 

Aaron wanted him back home permanantely, and so did he. But he still wanted a little bit more time just the two of them, to just _be_. They needed it after everything they'd been through. They owed it to each other to give this everything they had, Robert thought. They'd both wasted so much time letting other people's opinions influence their decisions. That stopped now. 

"No, I'm fine, it's just...." He looked around the room. "Everything looks the same. It's like stepping into a time warp. Sometimes it feels like the last two years didn't happen." But he knew they did. He still felt the sting of the pain, and the distance that those years had put between them was still there, though it was decreasing rapidly. Finding their way back to each other had been the easy part, it was navigating the rest that had been hard, but as they were figuring out, as long as they had each other that was all that mattered. They'd been through worse than this, and they would get through this too. It was just going to take time.

"I know, but they did," Aaron said. "We're here now, you and me. We don't need to think about it anymore." He reached for Robert's hand. "I want to take you upstairs."

God, he wanted to just go upstairs and forget about everything - and everyone - else, and just concentrate on the man in front of him. But his brain just wouldn't shut off. All the nagging doubts, the voice insides his head that told him that he didn't deserve this second chance, just wouldn't shut up.

But his need for Aaron won out, as it always did. He followed Aaron up the spiral staircase and into their old bedroom, and tried to drown out the voices in his head that reminded him that there were going to be people that weren't going to be thrilled when they went public with their reconciliation. He'd heard all about the set ups, how Aaron's family constantly tried to push him to move on before the ink was even dry on their divorce papers. They even tried to claim it was what he would have wanted for Aaron. At the time, in his head, he had, but back then he had been looking at spending fourteen years inside. 

Everything was different now. 

Not that Aaron had listened, or had been even remotely interested in a hook up or meeting someone new, and for that Robert was eternally grateful. If there was anything Robert didn't doubt, it was Aaron's unwavering love and devotion. Even though he was the reason they were apart, Aaron never blamed him, he never threw it back in his face. Robert had given him every reason to hate him, he had ended their marriage without so much as a word. He didn't deserve another chance, but hell if he wasn't going to hold onto it and fight for it with everything inside of him.

_It was always you, you know. Even if you were thousand of miles away and were going to be locked up for years, it was always going to be you._

Aaron's words reverberated in his ears as he felt Aaron's fingertips tracing his back. The touch brought a quick shudder, one that Robert didn't even bother to try and hide. The desire in Aaron's eyes only fueled the fire that was already burning.

_Okay, brain. Time to shut the fuck up._

Then Aaron's hands were everywhere, and he was kissing him, and Robert's brain finally started to listen, to shut down every other thought but the man who was making him come apart with just one kiss. With just one touch, Aaron made him forget all of his doubts, and cast aside his worries about what would happen tomorrow and the day after that. Aaron's smile was pure sin, his beard-shadow dark, his hair mussed. Bare chested (when had he taken off his shirt?) muscles defined, his jeans slung low on his waist, he nuzzled into Robert's neck. His lips were hot when they found Robert's, his tongue insistent. He eagerly parted his lips and when Aaron's tongue thrust inside and tasted him, Robert pulled him closer, trying to get him as close as he could, needing that connection, desperate to feel every inch of him.

Robert ached deep inside and he had trouble catching his breath. His heart pounded and his blood raced as Aaron stripped him out of his shirt. Giving into a passion he could no longer deny, Robert buried his face in Aaron's neck. "I love you," he whispered against Aaron's skin. He didn't just want Aaron, he needed him, more than his next breath, and the moan that escaped Aaron's lips only made him want more. 

Robert lifted his head to stare deep into the eyes that he'd missed so much. So damn much. "I don't want to live without you ever again. I'm not going to screw this up this time."

"I know," Aaron whispered back, his fingers tracing Robert's cheekbones. "It's you and me, yeah? Always. Nothing is ever going to change that."

"Promise?"

Aaron claimed Robert's mouth again in a sorching kiss. Fierce, hungry, hard, Aaron kissed him until Robert couldn't think of anything but him.

"Promise," Aaron whispered, leaving no room for doubt in either of their minds. In the half light Aaron could make out Robert's face. Intense, wicked, and downright sexy. The need within him throbbed. It had never been like this with anyone else. 

And it never would be again.

He wanted this.

He needed this.

He would fight for this. For _him_.

And to think he'd almost lost this...it was too much to bear, Aaron thought and he felt the gentle scrape of Robert's teeth against his skin, the tickle of his tongue. Wanting, needing, consumed by an ache that seemed to pulse, Aaron dragged Robert's mouth back to his, his fingers curling in the stark white sheets as the need pulsed through him.

Later, the warm glow of satisfaction wound over him, Aaron rested his head against Robert's chest and felt his heart beat. "I love you," Aaron said, his voice soft. 

They say if you love something, set it free, and if it comes back to you then it's meant to be. Robert knows this is true, he's lived it. The two of them, they're proof that love can survive the darkest storms.

Meant to be. Robert never believed in soulmates before, but he does now.

Aaron is his soulmate in every sense of the word. Two pieces of a puzzle that just don't fit with any other.

They belong together. Apart they're useless. It's always been that way.

Robert stared down at Aaron, the man he loved, the man he knew now without a doubt he could never live a day without again, and pressed a kiss to his temple, a silent promise that this time he wouldn't walk away no matter how tough things got. It was not going to be easy, they both knew that, but nothing worth having ever came easy. Everything he should have done the first time around flashed through his mind. But now wasn't the time for regret or apologies, they'd already been through all of that.

They didn't understand that no one else could make him feel this way, Aaron thought as he pressed his palm over Robert's heart. They didn't understand that this, right here, was what he would give everything up for. 

There was no one else. His heart wouldn't let there be. Even when everyone tried to tell him he needed to move on, that Robert would want him to be happy, that dwelling on the past wasn't doing him any favors, he'd held on. At first he thought it was just his stubborn streak that hadn't allowed him to let go, that he was just scared of facing the truth.

But that hadn't been it.

He had waited because in his heart he knew that hadn't been the end for them, that he would see Robert again. The rational part of his brain knew that was highly unlikely, but his heart kept holding on because _it knew_ , and that's what he'd held onto all these years, hoping and praying that against all odds they would would be together again.

"I love you too," Robert said, his lips finding Aaron's again, and closed his eyes to the night, to all of the uncertainty, the doubts.

He knew that whatever waited for them outside these walls, they would face them.

Right now, in this moment, he's happy, and after everything they've been through, for now that's enough.


End file.
